1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a stiffener for vehicles that insures the safety of a pedestrian when the pedestrian is hit by a vehicle and, more particularly, to a combination bumper cover and stiffener for vehicles that is constructed so that one surface of a stiffener is united with a bumper cover of a vehicle to provide more efficient shock absorption in the event that a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, as shown in FIG. 1, a bumper cover 30 is mounted to a front end module carrier 10 of a vehicle, and provides a pleasing appearance when the hood 40 of the vehicle is opened, and absorbs shock in the case of a head-on collision.
Further, a stiffener 20 is mounted to the lower portion of the front end module carrier 10 to meet a legform test for a pedestrian. When a pedestrian is hit by the vehicle, the stiffener 20 absorbs shocks, and causes the pedestrian to land on the hood 40, thus minimizing shocks due to the collision.
However, the conventional stiffener 20 and bumper cover 30 for vehicles have separate functions, so that the stiffener 20 and the bumper cover 30 are separately installed at predetermined positions. Thus, when a pedestrian is hit by the vehicle, the pedestrian is bumped against the bumper cover 30 and thus is primarily subjected to shocks. After that, the stiffener 20 absorbs shocks. Therefore, the effect of the stiffener 20, which is installed to absorb shocks in the event of a collision, is decreased.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.